memeorandum: Obama Cites ‘Systemic Failure’ in U.S. Security (Peter Baker/New York Times)

8:55 AM ET, December 30, 2009

Top Items:

Obama Cites ‘Systemic Failure’ in U.S. Security — HONOLULU - President Obama on Tuesday blamed a “systemic failure” in the nation's security apparatus for the attempted bombing of a passenger jet on Christmas Day and vowed to identify the problems and “deal with them immediately.”

Discussion: Washington Post, The Caucus, QandO, White House.gov Blog Feed, Prairie Weather, The Page, Suburban Guerrilla, The BLT, Guardian, New York Times, Michelle Malkin, The Moderate Voice, USA Today, Political Byline, Online NewsHour, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Weasel Zippers and Jules Crittenden

Armen Keteyian / CBS News:

U.S. Intel Lapses Helped Abdulmutallab — CBS News Exclusive: CIA Had Info on Person of Interest Dubbed “The Nigerian” in August But Officials Failed to Connect Dots — (CBS) CBS News has learned that as early as August of 2009 the Central Intelligence Agency was picking up information …

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, The Sundries Shack and protein wisdom

Times of London:

Al-Qaeda ‘groomed Abdulmutallab in London’ — Sean O'Neill, Crime and Security Editor and Giles Whittell in Washington — The Christmas Day airline bomb plot suspect organised a conference under the banner “War on Terror Week” as he immersed himself in radical politics while a student in London, The Times has learnt.

Discussion: NO QUARTER, Jihad Watch and Harry's Place

Mike Allen / The Politico:

CIA also knew about suspect — The CIA received a vague warning four months ago about the Nigerian suspect in the Christmas Day bombing attempt, although officers did not learn his name until last month, administration officials said Tuesday night. — The revelation, first reported by CBS News …

Discussion: Commentary, The Washington Independent and Political Byline

CNN:

Source: CIA failed to circulate report about bombing suspect — (CNN) — The father of terrorism suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab talked about his son's extremist views with someone from the CIA and a report was prepared, but the report was not circulated outside the agency, a reliable source told CNN's Jeanne Meserve on Tuesday.

Discussion: Cold Fury and Boston Globe

Washington Post:
Obama vows to repair intelligence gaps behind Detroit airplane incident

Discussion: The Corner on National …

Elizabeth Williamson / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Says ‘Catastrophic Breach’ Led to Bomb Plot

Discussion: Commentary and American Thinker

Washington Times:
Awlaki personally blessed Detroit attack

Discussion: Telegraph, Gates of Vienna, The Long War Journal, Weekly Standard, Times of London, Hot Air, American Power and The Corner on National …

Chuck Bennett / New York Post:
Ex-Gitmo goons did it! — Freed Qaeda creeps hatched undie-cover plan …

Discussion: The washington times Blogs

The Prowler / American Spectator:
Abdulmutallab and the Obama Mindset

Discussion: Wizbang, Flopping Aces and GINA COBB

Susan Crabtree / The Hill:

Sen. Feinstein: Halt transfers to Yemen — The senior Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee wants no more Guantanamo Bay detainees released to Yemen in the wake of a Christmas day terrorist attack hatched in that country. — “Guantanamo detainees should not be released to Yemen at this time …

Discussion: The Page, Weekly Standard and YID With LID

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Cheney: Obama ‘trying to pretend’ — Former Vice President Dick Cheney accused President Barack Obama on Tuesday of “trying to pretend we are not at war” with terrorists, pointing to the White House response to the attempted sky bombing as reflecting a pattern that includes banishing the term …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Power Line, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and The Page

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Slams Security Breach — ‘Catastrophic’ Lapse Enabled Bomb Try; Father Told CIA of Suspect's Radicalization — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said a “potential catastrophic breach” allowed the alleged Christmas Day bomber to set his attack into motion, as it emerged …

Discussion: The Rhetorican

Barbara Starr / CNN:

Officials: U.S., Yemen reviewing targets — Washington (CNN) — The U.S. and Yemen are now looking at fresh targets in Yemen for a potential retaliation strike, two senior U.S. officials told CNN Tuesday, in the aftermath of the botched Christmas Day attack on an airliner that al Qaeda in Yemen claims it organized.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Gateway Pundit, Aljazeera and Weasel Zippers

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Obama takes the heat Bush did not — Eight years ago, a terrorist bomber's attempt to blow up a transatlantic airliner was thwarted by a group of passengers, an incident that revealed some gaping holes in airline security just a few months after the attacks of Sept. 11.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Outside The Beltway, Firedoglake, Stop The ACLU, marbury, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Philly.com and NPR Blogs

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Republican calls on Napolitano to resign

Discussion: Mediaite, Ben Smith's Blog and Washington Monthly

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Rove granted divorce in Texas — Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, has been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage, a family spokesperson said. — Dana Perino, the spokesperson, said: “Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week.

Discussion: Newsweek Blogs, Queerty, Liberal Values, Salon, USA Today, Raw Story, Political Byline, The Impolitic, Wonkette, The Daily Dish, Shakesville and TPM LiveWire

Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:
Karl Rove and His Wife Have Divorced

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Page and Truthdig

David Sessions / Politics Daily:
Karl Rove Divorces Wife of 24 Years in Texas

Discussion: La Figa and FishBowlDC

The Hill:

Reid to try to break hold on TSA nominee — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will make a parliamentary move to ensure the confirmation of President Barack Obama's Transportation Security Administration nominee next month. — Reid's office announced Tuesday the leader will invoke …

Discussion: The Other McCain

Avi Zenilman / The Plum Line:
Skittish Democrats Refuse To Defend Obama On National Security

Discussion: Hot Air, The Anchoress, CNN, Pajamas Media, Gateway Pundit, The Fix, Washington Monthly, MyDD, The Swamp and Talking Points Memo

Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:

Move Your Money: A New Year's Resolution — Last week, over a pre-Christmas dinner, the two of us, along with political strategist Alexis McGill, filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki, and Nick Penniman of the HuffPost Investigative Fund, began talking about the huge, growing chasm between …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Gawker, New Deal 2.0, Felix Salmon and Seeing the Forest

Susananne / susananne's Diary:

Yes, Byron, The GOP Deserves Blame, But You Need to Go Further — Byron York's article in the Washington Examiner highlights Republican shortcomings in recent years causing the shift to a Democrat-controlled Congress. While I agree with some of his points, I think York needs to go further with a few critical elements.

Discussion: Riehl World View and Pajamas Media

Dennis Kolb Sr / Washington Examiner:
LibertarianMama — There is another option besides the two evils …

Discussion: The Other McCain and Townhall.com

The Huffington Post:

Ayatollah Khamenei's Jet Checked, Iran Supreme Leader May Flee To Russia If Necessary — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei could flee to Russia should the situation in his country continue to spiral out of control, according to Radio Netherlands.

Discussion: BBC, Enduring America, Hot Air and Planet-Iran.com

Deborah Solomon / New York Times:

Power of Attorney — Your new book, “Crisis and Command,” is an eloquent, fact-laden history of audacious power grabs by American presidents going back to George Washington. Which president would you say most violated laws enacted by Congress? — I would say Lincoln.

Discussion: MyDD, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Ezra Klein, Main Justice, FP Passport, Gawker, The Washington Independent, Truthdig and The BLT

The Huffington Post:

The Cash Committee: How Wall Street Wins On The Hill — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — The question was simple: Should the lending practices of auto dealers be regulated? — It was already October and the 42 Democrats and 29 Republicans on the House Committee on Financial Services had spent …

Discussion: Felix Salmon, The Big Picture and Open Congress

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:

Medicare vs. Medicaid: A Stark Warning About Having States Execute Reform — Political map of the United States, ca. 2002 (source: Univ. of Texas at Austin) — The Social Security Act of 1965 created two public insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid. One proved to be a big success, and the other, not so much.

Discussion: American Power